Le Pot au Feu

Le Pot-au-feu was a French cooking magazine and domestic-economy periodical published in Paris between 1893 and 1956. It was issued in quarto format and appeared every two weeks, addressing primarily bourgeois housewives and presenting cooking as both a practical household skill and an organized form of domestic management. The publication belongs to the late-nineteenth- and early-twentieth-century tradition of specialized culinary and household periodicals that combined recipes with instruction, menus, advice, and short articles related to food and home life. The magazine was published by Saint-Ange Ébrard. In its early years, each issue opened with a cooking lesson prepared by a professional chef. This instructional opening gave the periodical a teaching function in addition to its editorial and recipe content. Issues could also contain recipes, suggested menus, and brief articles, making the publication useful as a recurring household reference rather than simply a collection of isolated dishes. Marie Ébrard, the publisher's wife, contributed a regular column under the name “La Vieille Catherine.” Her participation added a distinct domestic voice to the magazine and helped connect its culinary material with the everyday concerns of household readers. The magazine's content was later consolidated in part through Marie Ébrard's cookbook La bonne cuisine de Madame E. Saint-Ange, which collected recipes associated with the publication. In 1929, the periodical adopted the later title Le pot-au-feu et les Bonnes recettes réunis. It continued under that title until its publication ended in 1956. The title should be distinguished from another publication called Le Pot-au-feu, later renamed Journal pittoresque de gastronomie et d'économie domestique; the relationship between the two periodicals is uncertain. As a historical publication, Le Pot-au-feu is notable for documenting the development of practical culinary publishing and the intended role of food media in bourgeois domestic life, rather than for being a contemporary commercial food brand.

Le Pot-au-feu was established in Paris in 1893 as a biweekly periodical devoted to practical cooking and domestic economy. Published in quarto format, it was aimed principally at bourgeois housewives, reflecting the period's growing market for specialized household publications. Rather than functioning solely as a recipe sheet, the magazine combined instruction, culinary reference material, and domestic editorial content. In its early format, each issue began with a cooking lesson written by a professional chef. This recurring feature gave the magazine an educational structure and presented cooking as a skill that could be learned through systematic guidance. Other content included recipes, menus, and short articles. The mix allowed readers to use individual issues both for immediate meal preparation and for broader household planning. The publication was issued by Saint-Ange Ébrard. Marie Ébrard, his wife, also contributed to the magazine, writing a column under the pseudonym “La Vieille Catherine.” Her column represented the periodical's domestic and conversational side, complementing the more formal instruction supplied by professional chefs. Recipes from the magazine were subsequently gathered in Marie Ébrard's cookbook La bonne cuisine de Madame E. Saint-Ange, extending the publication's influence into a durable book format. In 1929, the magazine was retitled Le pot-au-feu et les Bonnes recettes réunis. The revised title emphasized the publication's recipe-centered identity while retaining its connection with the original name. It continued publication under the later title until 1956, when the periodical ceased. A separate publication also used the title Le Pot-au-feu and was later renamed Journal pittoresque de gastronomie et d'économie domestique. Available reference material does not establish whether that earlier or parallel title was directly related to the 1893–1956 magazine. It should therefore be treated as a distinct or uncertainly connected publication rather than automatically incorporated into the history of the main periodical. Le Pot-au-feu is historically significant as an example of French culinary and domestic-economy publishing. Its professional cooking lessons, practical recipes, menus, and household articles illustrate how periodicals addressed food preparation as part of organized domestic life. The magazine's primary audience and editorial structure also provide evidence of the social assumptions embedded in bourgeois household publishing during the late nineteenth and first half of the twentieth centuries.

• 1956

  Publication ends

  [1]Le Pot-au-feuen.wikipedia.org

  Publication of the magazine ends after continuing under its later title.

• 1929

  Title changes

  [1]Le Pot-au-feuen.wikipedia.org

  The magazine adopts the later title Le pot-au-feu et les Bonnes recettes réunis.

• 1893

  Publication begins

  [1]Le Pot-au-feuen.wikipedia.org

  Le Pot-au-feu begins publication in Paris as a biweekly quarto-format magazine focused on cooking and domestic economy.

A practical French culinary and domestic-economy publication designed primarily for bourgeois household managers, combining professional instruction with recipes, menus, and household-oriented editorial material.

• Cooking magazine · 1893

  Le Pot-au-feu

  A French biweekly cooking and domestic-economy magazine published in quarto format. Early issues featured a professional chef's cooking lesson followed by recipes, menus, and short household-oriented articles.

• Cooking magazine · 1929

  Le pot-au-feu et les Bonnes recettes réunis

  The magazine's later title, used from 1929 through the end of publication in 1956. It continued the periodical's practical culinary and domestic-economy editorial approach.

• Cookbook

  La bonne cuisine de Madame E. Saint-Ange

  A cookbook by Marie Ébrard collecting recipes connected with Le Pot-au-feu. It translated the magazine's recurring recipe material into a standalone culinary reference work.

• 1929

  Adoption of a new titleOther

  Background

  The periodical had been published under the name Le Pot-au-feu since 1893.

  Action taken

  It was renamed Le pot-au-feu et les Bonnes recettes réunis.

  Aftermath

  The publication continued under the revised title until it ended in 1956.

  Source

1. 1Le Pot-au-feuen.wikipedia.org